Waitrose feels the chill as customers go downmarket

Fears that Brits are heading for the discount stores were stoked today as upmarket chain Waitrose posted its worst trading figures since the end of last winter.

The amount being spent in what is widely seen as the UK's poshest national chain of grocers came to an abrupt halt in the week running up to last Saturday.

Flat supermarket sales figures released by Waitrose parent John Lewis are the worst performance since the early Easter weekend in March.

The figures come as retail statistics reveal that more shoppers are heading for the likes of Aldi and Lidl discount supermarkets, while those that are staying with supermarket chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury's are trading down to cheaper own-label lines.

Waitrose played down the significance of the figures, indicating they are up against tough comparable weekly figures a year ago.